Polish Association for Persons with Intellectual Disability Early Intervention Centre

GDPR at OWI PSONI

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PRIVACY NOTICE FOR USERS OF OWI PSONI SERVICES

1. Who is the controller of personal data

We inform you that the controller of the personal data provided to us – including the data of the child/patient, parents, legal guardians, persons authorised to access medical records and information about the patient’s health and progress in therapy, persons authorised to take part in therapy with the child or to collect the child from OWI, other persons acting on behalf of the child, and other data indicated in the Initial Form and its annexes – is the Polish Association for Persons with Intellectual Disability, with its registered office in Warsaw (02-639) at ul. Głogowa 2B, which also pursues its statutory goals through its organisational unit, the “Early Intervention Centre”, located at ul. Pilicka 21 in Warsaw (02-613), hereinafter OWI PSONI, where health services are provided and children’s therapy is carried out.

If you have any questions about how we process personal data, or wish to exercise your rights, you can contact us by post at the address of OWI PSONI given above.

We have also appointed a Data Protection Officer, who can be contacted:

Your requests will be dealt with on an ongoing basis, within no more than 30 days of receipt, and in complex cases within up to 90 days, in which case we will inform you of this within one month.

2. Where do we get personal data from?

We process personal data because it was provided to us:

  1. by you personally in connection with registering the child/patient at OWI PSONI, or
  2. by the child’s parent/legal guardian or another person representing the child/patient, or
  3. by authorised authorities or institutions, including courts, foster families and children’s homes, as well as other healthcare providers that previously provided health services to the child/patient.

3. What data do we process?

About the child/patient, we process all data required by law that is necessary to register the patient and provide health services, including therapy, in particular: PESEL number, age, sex, full name, address, information about parents or legal guardians, health condition including degree of disability, the child’s physical and personality traits, information about treatments and health services provided, the child’s legal status and, in the case of therapy recorded with the consent of the parents or legal guardians, also their image.

The personal data we process about other persons (including parents, legal guardians and other persons authorised to represent the child) in connection with processing the child’s/patient’s data is usually limited to the data needed to identify the person, i.e. full name and PESEL number, and contact details: phone number, e-mail address and home address.

4. Purposes and legal basis of processing personal data

We process data for the following purposes:

  1. providing medical services and health prevention, on the legal basis set out in Article 6(1)(c) and (d) and Article 9(2)(c) and (h) of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC, applicable from 25 May 2018 (hereinafter GDPR), in connection with the Act of 27 August 2004 on healthcare services financed from public funds, the Act of 6 November 2008 on patients’ rights and the Patient Ombudsman, the Act of 15 April 2011 on medical activity, the Act of 19 August 1994 on mental health protection and numerous other legal acts, including their implementing acts;
  2. contact purposes, including informing you about the cancellation or rescheduling of an appointment, which under Article 6(1)(f) GDPR is our legitimate interest for processing it;
  3. carrying out educational and care tasks, on the legal basis set out in Article 6(1)(c) GDPR in connection with the Act of 7 September 1991 on the education system, the Regulation of the Minister of National Education of 1 February 2013 on the detailed rules of operation of public psychological and educational counselling centres, including public specialist counselling centres, and the Regulation of the Minister of National Education of 23 April 2013 on the conditions and methods of organising rehabilitation and educational activities for children and young people with profound intellectual disabilities;
  4. archiving and making available documentation produced in pursuing the above purposes, as required by law (Article 6(1)(c) GDPR, e.g. the Act of 6 November 2008 on patients’ rights and the Patient Ombudsman);
  5. correctly identifying persons authorised to act on behalf of or for the child/patient, which is our legitimate interest under Article 6(1)(f) GDPR;
  6. pursuing and defending against claims, as it is our legitimate interest to pursue or defend against claims (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR).

Providing personal data and our processing of it for the purposes listed in points a, c and d above is necessary, as the obligation to process it arises from the law. Providing data for contact purposes is voluntary but necessary to stay in touch and receive notifications from us, e.g. about scheduled or cancelled appointments.

Your data will not be subject to automated decision-making, including profiling, as referred to in Article 22(1) GDPR.

5. Disclosure of personal data to other entities

Your data may be made available to other entities when:

  • it is our legitimate interest or that of the entity requesting it,
  • consent has been given (to insurance companies, family members, etc.),
  • the obligation to disclose it arises from the law, in particular to: the National Health Fund; the Social Insurance Institution; the designated postal operator; investigative authorities; courts; healthcare providers, if necessary to ensure continuity of health services; the Patient Ombudsman; medical professional self-government bodies and national and regional consultants, to the extent necessary for these entities to perform their tasks, in particular supervision and inspection of OWI; entities referred to in Article 119(1) and (2) of the Act of 15 April 2011 on medical activity, to the extent necessary to carry out inspections commissioned by the minister responsible for health; the minister responsible for health, court physicians and professional liability officers, in connection with ongoing proceedings; authorities and institutions authorised under separate acts, if the examination was carried out at their request; pension authorities and disability assessment boards, in connection with their proceedings; entities keeping registers of medical services, to the extent necessary to keep the registers; insurance companies, with the patient’s consent; medical boards subordinate to the minister responsible for internal affairs, military medical boards and medical boards of the Internal Security Agency or the Foreign Intelligence Agency subordinate to the Heads of the relevant Agencies; persons practising a medical profession in connection with an accreditation procedure for a healthcare provider under the provisions on accreditation in healthcare, or a procedure for obtaining other quality certificates, to the extent necessary to carry them out; the regional commission for adjudicating medical events referred to in Article 67e(1) of the Act on patients’ rights and the Patient Ombudsman, within the scope of the proceedings; heirs, within the scope of proceedings before the regional commission for adjudicating medical events referred to in Article 67e(1) of the Act on patients’ rights and the Patient Ombudsman; persons carrying out inspections under Article 39(1) of the Act of 28 April 2011 on the healthcare information system, to the extent necessary to carry them out; members of hospital infection control teams referred to in Article 14 of the Act of 5 December 2008 on preventing and combating infections and infectious diseases in humans (Journal of Laws of 2016, items 1866, 2003 and 2173), to the extent necessary to perform their tasks.

In addition, the personal data we process may be disclosed to entities supporting our activities, i.e. suppliers and service providers of IT systems, law firms, and consulting and audit firms.

We will always ensure that the scope of information disclosed to these entities is adequate and necessary for the intended purposes.

At present we do not intend to transfer personal data to a third country or an international organisation. If such a transfer were to take place, it would always respect privacy and the other requirements of the GDPR.

6. Retention period of personal data

We will process personal data for the period specified in Article 29(1)(1)–(4) of the Act on patients’ rights and the Patient Ombudsman, i.e. the data will be processed in the medical records for 20 years from the end of the calendar year in which the last entry was made, except for:

  1. medical records in the event of the patient’s death as a result of bodily injury or poisoning, in which the data is processed for 30 years from the end of the calendar year in which the death occurred;
  2. referrals for tests or doctor’s orders, in which personal data is stored for:
    1. 5 years from the end of the calendar year in which the health service covered by the referral or doctor’s order was provided,
    2. 2 years from the end of the calendar year in which the referral was issued, if the health service was not provided because the patient did not attend at the agreed time, unless the patient collected the referral;
  3. medical records of children up to the age of two, in which personal data is stored for 22 years.

In addition, we may also process your data for the limitation period of any claims, as this is necessary to achieve our purposes arising from legitimate interests. In other processes carried out in connection with our legitimate interests, we will process the data until those purposes have been achieved.

7. Rights of the data subject in connection with data processing

You have the right to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority, which is the President of the Personal Data Protection Office.

To the extent provided by applicable law, you also have the right to:

  • access your data or the data of a child of whom you are the legal guardian or a parent with parental authority, and to have it rectified, erased or its processing restricted,
  • data portability, including receiving a copy in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format.

If you have consented to the processing of personal data, you also have the right to withdraw your consent at any time, which will not, however, affect the lawfulness of our processing of your data based on consent before its withdrawal.

You also have the right to object to the processing of your personal data or that of the child you represent, on grounds relating to the particular situation of the data subject, if the processing is based on our legitimate interest; in that case we will no longer process this personal data unless we demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for the processing which override your interests, rights and freedoms, or grounds for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

Child Protection Policy

at the Early Intervention Centre of the Polish Association for Persons with Intellectual Disability in Warsaw

Chapter I – Definitions

§ 1

  1. Controller – the controller of personal data processed at the Early Intervention Centre of the Polish Association for Persons with Intellectual Disability (hereinafter “OWI PSONI”), which is the Polish Association for Persons with Intellectual Disability with its registered office in Warsaw.
  2. Risk factors for child harm – selected information about the conditions, situation and functioning of the family that favour harm to the child within the family. Risk factors increase the likelihood that the child will experience intentional or unintentional harm, or inappropriate treatment that may disrupt their development.
  3. Child’s personal data – any information that makes it possible to identify the child.
  4. Child – any person under the age of 18.
  5. Intervention – a process aimed at changing the child’s situation, i.e. stopping the harm and ensuring the child’s safety through a quick and effective response.
  6. Child harm – all forms of mistreatment of children that lead to or create a risk of bodily injury, death, psychological harm, abnormal development or violation of dignity. Child harm can be divided into the following categories: physical violence, psychological violence, sexual abuse and neglect.
  7. Persons responsible for the Policy – the Director of OWI PSONI and the Coordinator of OWI PSONI. Their responsibility covers drawing up, implementing, monitoring and reviewing the Policy and preparing employees and other staff to apply it. The Director of OWI PSONI may appoint additional persons responsible for the Policy as a whole, for a particular area or for particular tasks.
  8. Policy – the Child Protection Policy at OWI PSONI; a document presenting the framework rules, standards and guidelines aimed at making all public employees and other staff aware of the need to take action to protect children from harm and to intervene appropriately, and setting out preventive and intervention measures to ensure children’s safety. The Policy contains standards for protecting minors from harm, a set of rules that put the protection of children at the centre of the activities and values of OWI PSONI and thus help to create a safe, violence-free and friendly environment in all activities for children.
  9. Other staff – persons other than Employees who perform tasks at OWI PSONI under separate provisions (trainees, interns, volunteers).
  10. Employees – persons employed at OWI PSONI under an employment contract.
  11. Physical violence – violence as a result of which the child suffers actual physical harm or is potentially at risk of it. The harm results from an action or failure to act by a parent or another person, including a person responsible for the child, whom the child trusts or who has control over the child. Physical violence against a child may be repeated or one-off.
  12. Psychological violence – chronic, non-physical, harmful interaction between a child and an adult. It includes both actions and omissions, among others: emotional unavailability, emotional neglect, a relationship with the child based on hostility, blaming, denigration or rejection, interactions inappropriate to the child’s level of development, developmentally inappropriate or inconsistent interactions with the child, and failing to notice or recognise the child’s individuality and the psychological boundaries between the parent, employees or other staff and the child.
  13. Parent – a person who has custody of the child and is authorised to represent the child, in particular their statutory representative (biological parent, legal guardian) or another person authorised to represent the child under specific provisions, including a court ruling, in particular a foster parent.
  14. Sexual abuse – involving a child in sexual activity that they cannot fully understand and to which they cannot give informed consent, and/or for which they are not developmentally ready and cannot legally consent, and/or which is contrary to the legal or moral norms of society. Sexual abuse occurs when such activity takes place between a child and an adult, or between a child and another child if, because of their age or level of development, they are in a relationship of care, dependence or control. Sexual abuse also includes exposing a child to erotic content for which they are not ready.
  15. Neglect – failure to meet the child’s basic needs that are necessary for their healthy development, in particular needs related to nutrition, clothing, shelter, hygiene, medical care, education or the child’s psychological needs.
  16. Intervention team – a team appointed by the Director of OWI PSONI in cases of suspected child harm. The team may include: employees with knowledge of the harm to the child, the child’s carer, a person responsible for the Policy, and another employee designated by the Director of OWI PSONI.
  17. Consent of the parent/parents – the consent of the persons with whom the agreement on using the facility’s services has been concluded. If the agreement has been concluded with one parent – the consent of that parent. If the agreement has been concluded with both parents and they cannot agree, the parents should be informed that the matter must be decided by a court.

Chapter II – Recognising and responding to risk factors for child harm

§ 2

  1. Employees and other staff of OWI PSONI are knowledgeable about, and in the course of their duties pay attention to, risk factors for child harm, in accordance with Annex 1 to the Policy.
  2. If risk factors are identified, OWI PSONI employees talk to the parents, giving them information about available support and encouraging them to seek help.
  3. Employees and other staff monitor the child’s situation and well-being.
  4. Employees and other staff know and apply the rules of safe staff–child relationships set out in the Policy and in Annex 2 to the Policy.
  5. Employees and other staff are recruited to OWI PSONI in accordance with safe recruitment principles, set out in Annex 3 to the Policy.

Chapter III – Intervention procedures when child harm in the family is found or suspected

§ 3

  1. If employees or other staff find or suspect that a child is being harmed, each of them must pass the information on to the Director of OWI PSONI and write an official note.
  2. The psychologist conducting the meeting with the parents, as the person with insight into the family situation of the child whose harm is found or suspected, informs them of this finding or suspicion. At least one person responsible for the Policy takes part in the meeting.
  3. During the conversation, the psychologist/person designated by the Director of OWI PSONI informs the child’s parents about the available options for supporting the family and about the obligation to report the finding or suspicion of child harm to the relevant institution (the public prosecutor/police or the family court, the social welfare centre or the chair of the interdisciplinary team – the “Blue Card” procedure – depending on the type of harm identified and the corresponding intervention).
  4. After informing the parents, the Director of OWI PSONI notifies the institutions referred to in paragraph 3.
  5. Further proceedings are within the competence of the institutions referred to in paragraph 3.
  6. The psychologist/person designated by the Director of OWI PSONI attending the meeting writes a note of the conversation with the parents and of all the actions taken.
  7. If the suspicion of child harm is found to be unfounded, the psychologist/person designated by the Director of OWI PSONI attending the meeting writes a note on the closure of the intervention procedure. Further observation of the child’s situation is then recommended.
  8. The psychologist/person designated by the Director of OWI PSONI draws up a support plan for the child. Another person responsible for the Policy may also take part in drawing it up.
  9. The support plan for the child should include guidance on:
    1. action by the facility to ensure the child’s safety, including reporting the suspected harm to the relevant institution;
    2. the support the facility will offer the child, taking into account their real needs and, where possible, specifying its form with the child and with the parents, unless they are the persons causing harm;
    3. ways of monitoring the child’s situation;
    4. referring the child to a specialist child support facility, if needed.
  10. When drawing up the support plan, a detailed assessment of the child’s situation should be carried out, including an analysis of their physical, emotional and psychological condition and, where possible, an assessment of their home and environmental conditions.
  11. The support plan is presented to the parents with a recommendation to cooperate in carrying it out.

§ 4

  1. In more complex cases (in particular those involving sexual abuse or severe physical and psychological abuse), the psychologist/person designated by the Director of OWI PSONI sets up an intervention team.
  2. The intervention team draws up a support plan for the child meeting the requirements of § 3(9) of the Policy, based on the description prepared by the psychologist/person designated by the Director of OWI PSONI. The support plan is presented to the parents with a recommendation to cooperate in carrying it out.
  3. The steps described in § 3(2)–(6) are then taken.

§ 5

  1. An intervention record is kept of the course of the intervention, using the template in Annex 4 to this Policy.
  2. All employees of OWI PSONI, other staff and other persons who, in the course of their duties, have obtained information about harm to a child or related information are obliged to keep it confidential, except for passing it on within OWI PSONI in accordance with the Policy and to other authorised institutions as part of intervention measures.

§ 6

If an institution authorised under the relevant legal provisions – the family court, a social welfare centre, the police or the Warsaw Family Support Centre – requests information about a child, the psychologist/person designated by the Director of OWI PSONI must prepare information about the child covering the areas of care and cooperation with the parents indicated in the request.

Chapter IV – Rules for using electronic devices with internet access

§ 7

  1. Children in the OWI PSONI building do not have access to electronic devices or the internet.
  2. There is a password-protected Wi-Fi network at OWI PSONI.

Chapter V – Intervention procedures in the event of harm to a child by an employee or other staff

§ 8

  1. A person who has received information that a child is being harmed by staff, or that such harm is suspected, must pass it on to the Director of OWI PSONI and write an official note.
  2. The Director of OWI PSONI or their deputy invites the person concerned to an explanatory meeting. Another person with knowledge of child harm may take part in the meeting.
  3. The aim of the meeting is to discuss the child’s situation and whether the suspicions are justified, and to agree on how to proceed in the particular case. Based on the meeting, the Director of OWI PSONI completes the intervention record, which contains the conclusions and decisions.
  4. If harm to a child by an employee or other staff is found or reasonably suspected, the Director of OWI PSONI removes that person from working with children and informs the child’s parents and the relevant institutions (police/public prosecutor).
  5. Steps are taken in accordance with the law against any employee or other staff member who is found or suspected to have committed an offence.

§ 9

Procedures for handling complaints from parents about suspected harm to children by employees or other staff:

  1. Complaints may be made in writing, by e-mail or orally; if a parent makes a complaint orally, a note of the complaint will be made. The note must be signed by the person making the complaint and the person receiving it, and must contain: the full name of the child or information that can identify the child who is suspected of being harmed, the date the complaint was received, the full name and address of the person making the complaint, and a description of the matter.
  2. The procedure for handling complaints from parents about suspected harm to children by employees or other staff includes the following steps:
    1. the conversation between the Director of OWI PSONI and the parent/carer should take place in the presence of the designated person responsible for the Policy or the Coordinator of OWI PSONI,
    2. after the complaint is received, a procedure is started to clarify the incident,
    3. the parent/carer should be informed that the procedure has been started,
    4. the Director of OWI PSONI organises a meeting to discuss the child’s situation and whether the suspicions are justified, and to agree on how to proceed in the particular case. Based on the meeting, the Director of OWI PSONI completes the intervention record, which contains the conclusions and decisions.
  3. If harm to a child by an employee is found or reasonably suspected, the Director of OWI PSONI removes the employee from working with children and informs the child’s parents and the relevant institutions (police/public prosecutor).
  4. If the complaint is found to be unfounded, a written reply is sent to the child’s parents informing them that the proceedings have been closed.

Chapter VI – Procedure for handing children over when they leave OWI PSONI

§ 10

  1. A child should be collected from OWI PSONI by their parents/carers (unless the right to collect the child has been restricted by a decision of the competent authority) or by an adult authorised by them in writing who can ensure the child’s full safety, named in the authorisation to collect the child, the template of which is attached to the Initial Form.
  2. If one of the parents has limited or no parental rights (we recommend reporting this, submitting an appropriate statement for the child’s records and showing the relevant document as confirmation), the employee or other staff must follow the family court’s ruling when handing the child over.
  3. A child may not be handed over to anyone other than the parents without a written authorisation submitted in person by the parents, nor to anyone (including parents) who appears to be under the influence of alcohol or other intoxicating substances.
  4. Every attempt to collect a child by a parent or authorised person who appears to be under the influence of alcohol or other intoxicating substances must be reported to the Coordinator or Director of OWI PSONI. The employee or other staff member will ask that person to leave the premises. If the person refuses to leave and this disturbs the peace and safety, the Coordinator or Director calls the police.
  5. In the case described in paragraph 4, if it is not possible to contact the other parent or other persons authorised to collect the child, the Coordinator or Director calls the police.
  6. Repeated attempts to collect a child by a person who appears to be under the influence of alcohol or other psychoactive substances will be reported by the Director of OWI PSONI to the relevant services so that the child’s family situation can be investigated.

Chapter VII – Rules for protecting the child’s image

§ 11

  1. The facility undertakes to protect the child’s image.
  2. Processing a child’s image recorded in any form requires the parents’ written consent.
  3. Employees or other staff may not allow the media to record a child’s image on the premises without the written consent of the child’s parent.
  4. Guidelines on protecting the child’s image are set out in Annex 6 to the Policy.

Chapter VIII – Rules for protecting personal data

§ 12

  1. The child’s personal data is protected under the rules set out in particular in Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation, OJ L 119, 4.5.2016), hereinafter “GDPR”.
  2. Children’s personal data is processed only for the purpose for which it was collected.
  3. Parents and persons authorised by the Controller have access to the child’s personal data.

§ 13

  1. The Controller protects personal data against access by unauthorised persons, loss, damage or destruction by means of physical and logical safeguards, organisational procedures and system software.
  2. Only persons authorised by the Controller are allowed to process children’s personal data.
  3. Persons authorised to process data are obliged to keep it confidential.
  4. Employees or other staff may use information about a child for training or educational purposes only if the child remains anonymous and cannot be identified.
  5. Detailed rules for protecting and handling personal data, and for authorising its processing, are set out in the Personal Data Security Policy of OWI PSONI.
  6. The privacy notice on the processing of personal data in connection with the obligations arising from this Policy is set out in Annex 7 to the Policy.

§ 14

  1. Employees and other staff do not share information about children and their parents with the media or other persons.
  2. Employees and other staff do not put the media in contact with children and their parents.

Chapter IX – Monitoring the application of the Policy

§ 15

  1. The person responsible for the Policy, as well as the persons responsible for carrying out the individual duties and tasks set out in the Policy, are appointed by the Director of OWI PSONI.
  2. The persons responsible for the Policy are responsible for monitoring its implementation, responding to reports of breaches of the Policy and submitting proposals for changes to the Policy to the Director of OWI PSONI.
  3. The Policy is reviewed at least once every two years to ensure that it meets current needs and complies with applicable law. For this purpose, the Director or the Coordinator of OWI PSONI orders a discussion of the current content of the Policy, after which they assess whether it is appropriate or needs to be changed, taking into account in particular any problems and situations that have not previously been covered by the Policy. The conclusions of the review must be documented in writing.

Chapter X – Other provisions

§ 16

  1. All employees and other staff must read the Policy and then sign a statement confirming that they have read it and undertake to apply it, using the template in Annex 5.
  2. Before starting their duties, newly hired employees are trained in the Policy, must read it and sign a statement confirming that they have read it and undertake to apply it, using the template in Annex 5.
  3. Refresher training on the Policy is organised for employees and other staff on average once a year.
  4. Training may be delivered remotely, including as self-study at a place and time chosen by the employee or staff member, with possible verification of the knowledge acquired at least in the form of an online test.
  5. The Policy is made available for reading and application on the OWI PSONI website and by displaying it in a visible place, in a full version and a short version intended for minors. The short version contains the information relevant to minors.
  6. Documents relating to reported incidents are kept in the child’s file at the facility and/or in the employee’s personnel file or the documents of other staff, depending on the type of incident disclosed or reported.
  7. The Director of OWI PSONI or another person responsible for the Policy designated by them keeps a register of found or suspected cases of harm to minors and of intervention reports, which is stored in a secure place.
  8. Supervision of the implementation of the Policy at the day carer unit is exercised by the Director of OWI PSONI.